[continued from previous message]   
      
   Who's going to attest to their sterility??  Who's going to reach *into*   
   that box to pull out individual items (without wearing a chain-mail glove)   
      
   >> There are only so many "keyboards" (as in "organs") for which you can   
   >> find a home.   
   >>   
   >> There's little need for "old phones" as folks always want the latest and   
   >> greatest -- and it was "free" with their 3 year service plan!  I've rescued   
   >> half a dozen phones and use them as appliances:  one sits by my bed   
   >> with a BT speaker if I want to listen to music; one has some games on   
   >> it; one I carry when I'm away from the house; one for SWMBO; one for our   
   >> regular "home phone" service; one as a (small) portable media player when   
   >> I'm out walking (and timepiece); etc.   
   >   
   > Lack of software and security updates are troublesome for smartphones.   
      
   None of our phones are "current".  Yet, all are still supported.   
   We also don't bother with "data" or "text" on them.  They're *phones*.   
   If we want to research something on-line, we have computers with   
   screens that are dozens of times larger (and easier to use) than   
   anything available on a phone.   
      
   >> When TV's were in the 40 inch range, you could coax someone to taking one   
   >> off your hands (free).  But, at 85 inches, they're not interested -- or,   
   >> already have a NEW set that fits that bill.  Or, think 99K is so much more   
   >> viewable than anything less...   
   >>   
   >> We can gift some to shelters for battered women -- but, they tend to   
   >> want *one* communal TV, not one for each "apartment/room".   
   >   
   > If you have a local homeless support organisation that could be a route -   
   > for folks who now have somewhere to live off the street, but it needs   
   > furnishing for no money.  It would probably need some kind of electrical   
   > safety testing first.  (it is not appreciated if you electrocute the client,   
   > even if the item was free)   
      
   Yes.  But, once the persons leave the shelter, they tend to end up   
   back on the street.   
      
   We used to gift PCs to kids.  But, they'd crash at someone else's house   
   and the PC would get left behind as they simply couldn't transport any   
   belongings besides "essentials".  I advocated for gifting laptops   
   as that reduced the volume of the "gift" to something more manageable.   
      
   >> Exactly.  They'll drag them to a flea market, swap meet, across the border   
   >> into mexico, etc.  But, only if they *work*, else they develop a reputation   
   >> for selling crap.   
   >>   
   >> If they want to make money on this endeavor, then THEY should invest the   
   >> time and money repairing them.  We'll GLADLY give you every one that comes   
   >> in the door -- some MAY even work (but YOU will have to make that   
   assessment)   
   >   
   > It sounds like you need to go into business with some such people - you   
   > source the merchandise, they do the sales, you get a cut.  The handling of   
   > 'returns' is just a cost of doing business.   
      
   I'm not interested in being in a "business" doing this.  It's just how   
   I spend my "donated time" (I give 10-12 hours each week to some organization   
   as my way of "giving back" -- and have done so for ~25-30 years, now).   
   I intentionally limit the time I will spend as any of these efforts   
   can quickly use all of your available time.  (I have my own interests   
   and goals to attend to).   
      
   E.g., each time I refurbished an electric wheelchair or scooter, it "consumed"   
   three of my weekly budgets -- refurbishing, transporting, showing how to   
   use and recharge, etc.  I quickly realized that this was requiring way too   
   much time "per result".   
      
   [It is educational to see the constraints that get place on "free"!   
   There's a group, here, that provides wheelchairs to disable vets.   
   They were NOT interested in any of the electric/power wheelchairs   
   that we would gift to them!  They didn't want to have to deal with   
   the issues associated with them.]   
      
   By contrast, I spent a couple of weekly budgets and built a box that would   
   sanitize 60 disks at a time.  Good value for money as now someone less   
   qualified could reliably wipe the prior contents from each donated drive   
   (including the HPA and DSO areas) as well as "vouch" for the integrity   
   of the resulting drive.  (no sense putting a crappy drive back into   
   circulation but there *is* value in ensuring nothing of the donor's   
   information remains on it!)   
      
   The TVs were my latest attempt at adding value -- because they are so   
   damn BIG and represent a sizeable diversion of material.   
      
   >>> Or it could be that you aren't adding enough value to make it worth your   
   >>> while.  In which case you have to put a value on how much you're willing to   
   >>> expend to keep the item from landfill (or being recycled).   
   >>   
   >> They aren't really recyclable.  The screen and frame to support it set a   
   >> minimum size on any disposal.  There are only a couple of PCBs inside -- and   
   >> a lot (relatively) of effort to get at them (working on even a 55" TV takes   
   >> a whole tabletop -- I rely on the living room *floor*!).   
   >>   
   >> I can replace LDOs, caps, reflow joints, etc. for very little money.  But,   
   >> if there isn't a "customer" waiting to take the item, what point in that?   
   >   
   > The thing about e-waste is it's cheaper to make a new one that it is to   
   > dispose of the old one.   
      
   But that is because there is no cost to disposal.  It's an externality that   
   someone else covers "in the future".   
      
   Presently, getting rid of a CRT device requires illegal disposal *or*   
   finding someone who will take it off your hands FOR A $25 FEE!   
      
   (Even *we* won't accept CRTs anymore).   
      
   I suspect LCD TVs will end up similarly "cursed".   
      
   > That's why companies have to pay to dispose of   
   > electricals, and how this junk ends up at your door.  The question is does   
   > it have enough residual value to make it worthwhile becoming non-junk?   
      
   Roughly 1000 underprivileged kids end up with "free" laptops, each year,   
   from these efforts.  Yeah, they aren't i7's.  But, neither are any of *mine*!   
   And, before receiving the laptop, they had *nothing*.   
      
   If these were microwave ovens or TVs, I would shrug and argue about   
   how much that might improve their lives.  But, laptops and exposure to   
   computing LIKELY have a positive impact.   
      
   > Otherwise you're just helping companies skip their obligations.   
   >   
   >> We had a guy who used to build Linux boxes.  He stopped coming in when he   
   >> realized no one wanted a *free* Linux box!   
   >   
   > There's a reason why this stuff is here: supply > demand.  You can work on   
   > the supply but you also need to generate the demand.   
      
   That was the reason behind the original post:  what OTHER uses can we make   
   of "BIG TVs" that folks would embrace.  Removing the cost hurdle to make   
   it an easier "sell".   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)